April 2005:
Contact us:
24-Hour Crisis Line
206.461.3222
866.4CRISIS (427.4747)
206.461.3219 TDD
Available 365 days a year
Community
Information Line
206.461.3200
800.621.4636
206.461.3610 TDD
Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm
Teen Link
206.461.4922
866.TEENLINK (833.6546)
206.461.3219 TDD
Every evening, 6-10pm
Business Office
1515 Dexter Ave N
Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98109
206.461.3210
Fax: 206.461.8368
8am-5pm, M-F
Looking to buy your own home?
Community
Home Ownership Center helps people of low- to moderate-income families in
Washington State.
A Conversation about Ending Homelessness
8am-2pm
Wednesday, April 27
Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue
Contact Hopelink
for more information.
Free Sailing on Sundays
Center for Wooden Boats offers a free community sail at
2pm every Sunday. Arrive early as spots fill fast.
Noel House’s 2nd Annual Art Fair
11am-4pm
Sunday, April 24
Celebrate the
talent and hard work of residents and friends of Noel
House Women’s Shelter. A variety of art items will be for sale.
Refreshments and free parking. Call (206) 441-3210 or email jennifer@noelhouse.org with
questions.
Government Benefits and Work: Win-Win Strategies, a NAMI Greater Seattle
Educational Seminar
Saturday, April 9
$20 for the day-long event
Learn how to apply for and keep government benefits as
well as returning to work while receiving benefits. Contact Eula Garrison at
1-800-782-9264 or office@nami-greaterseattle.org
for more information.
20th Annual Alzheimer’s Association Education Conference
8am-4pm
Friday, April 29
Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Seattle
Call (206) 363-5500 or
(800) 848-7097 or visit www.alzawa.org
to register.
Queer Youth Forum
9am-4pm
Saturday, April 2
Meany Middle School, 301 21st Ave South,
Seattle. The event is free. Register online.
9th Annual Day of Silence
Wednesday, April 13
http://www.dayofsilence.org
3rd Annual Healthy Aging Summit: New Partners in Healthy
Aging
9am-3pm
Wednesday, May 4
Tukwila Community Center
Contact Karen at 206-824-2907.
April is Earth Month at Seattle Parks
There are many ways to get involved. The 19th
Annual Spring
Clean program begins on Saturday, April 2. Check the website for
details about all other programs.
Multicultural Fair
10am-5pm
Saturday, April 9
Bellevue
Community College
There is no cost to attend this event. For more
information Contact Faisal Jaswal at (425) 564-6151 or fjaswal@bcc.ctc.edu.
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Navigating the Maze:
The Mental Health System
Carol Bridges, Resource Specialist/Private Practitioners
The experience of mental illness is often described as
“being lost in a maze without a map.” To an outsider, the mental health
system itself can also seem like a maze. Who do you call for an
assessment? Where do you turn for crisis intervention?
Washington
Adult Day Services Association recently presented an afternoon seminar
that answered these questions and many others for attendees who provide
services and support to older adults. Presenters Sandy Tomlin, MSW, LICSW,
and Christie White, MS, work with King County Mental Health Department in
Client Services.
Penetrating the maze, said Tomlin, begins with
understanding how the King County system of publicly funded mental health
services works. The first qualifier for a prospective client is financial.
Government assistance through DSHS begins the process, with a GAX designation
needed to provide mental health benefits (in addition to the medical benefits
offered under other designations). A psychiatric evaluation is required
before these benefits can be awarded. For older adults, Evergreen
Healthcare – Mental Health Crisis and In-Home Services is the primary
provider for such evaluations. Here a “whole person” assessment is conducted,
looking at housing, legal issues, psychosocial stressors, and other
indicators of overall well-being. Evaluators look for Medical Necessity
Criteria that will place the client in one of the three tiers, or levels of
care, determined by Washington State. Benefits and services vary with each
tier, as the severity of the mental illness increases.
King County’s Mental Health Plan Brochure will soon be
released and available at www.metrokingco.gov,
outlining both generally and specifically what the county provides for
enrolled clients.
White, who emphasized the strict restrictions that apply
to these services, reviewed Mental Health Crisis and Commitment Services and
Chemical Dependency Commitment. Crisis and Commitment is a public safety law,
she said. “It’s about keeping them safe, not getting them help.”
White also discussed the difficult process of committing an individual to
involuntary chemical dependency treatment, remarking that such commitments
are rare. Service providers were encouraged to do work with clients in a
variety of ways, moving them toward voluntary commitment to treatment.
Tomlin and White also highlighted major issues impacting
the King County Mental Health system today: a shortage of mental health
beds and a shortage of County Designated Mental Health Professionals, both
increasingly problematic as budget dollars are reduced. •
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Database Cleanup Projects
Jeffrey Markwardt, Resource Specialist
Resource Center staff is in the process of reorganizing
information in the database before a final conversion to our new software
scheduled sometime later this year. A lot needs to be done before this can
happen.
We have been taking site information, addresses, and phone
numbers embedded in service description text fields and placing them in more
appropriate fields so users can search for all services by zip code
proximity. At the same time, we are working to make all address fields
readable by MapQuest.com, identifying duplicate information in the database,
uncovering new agencies and services to outreach, questioning how the new
software will identify and query information, and reviewing our agency
inclusion and exclusion policies.
We are converting some fields to pick lists to make our
lists more uniform and searchable.
At some point, we will need to begin recoding every
agency’s service in our database with new taxonomy terms and codes for the
conversion. Our current software uses a homemade three-tiered taxonomy
structure. Our new software uses AIRS/INFO LINE Taxonomy, a taxonomy that is
recognized as the international standard for the information and referral
field. Its 5-tiered taxonomy structure standardizes a classification and term
usage system so that resources may be shared among information and referral
providers locally, nationally, and around the world.
The transition for a clean software conversion takes time.
Taking the time to thoroughly finish all necessary cleanup projects before
the conversion will make the conversion as smooth as possible for everyone.
With our ongoing efforts to collaborate with our software developers, we
expect the finished product of a user-friendly database will make the process
worthwhile.
More information on AIRS/INFO LINE Taxonomy can be found
at http://www.211taxonomy.org. •
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Critical Resource Updates
Compiled by Crisis Clinic’s Resource Center
AIDS/HIV
Care Access Project (ACAP) moved to Lifelong AIDS Alliance as of March 1.
Bread
of Life Mission provides free men's clothing to anyone in need,
1:30-2:30pm, Tu-F.
City
of Federal Way is offering a utility tax rebate program which provides a
full 6% utility tax rebate to eligible low-income older adults of Federal
Way. Types of eligible utility bills include electric, heating, phone, cell
phone, garbage, and cable TV. Bills involving third party billing statements
or Lakehaven, Highline, and Midway Utility District are not accepted. Serves
residents of the City of Federal Way who are age 65 or older. Must have had a
gross income of $27,250 or less for a 1-person household, or $31,150 or less
for a 2-person household. Call for additional income eligibility
requirements. Save all utility bills for the calendar year. Be prepared to show
proof of income. For 2005, applications are due April 30.
Downtown Emergency Service Center’s Day
Shelter will be closed Monday, April 11 during daytime hours. It will
re-open that evening, with new bathrooms and shower rooms for both men and
women.
Federal
Way Police Department no longer issues emergency motel vouchers.
HousingAdvocate.org
is a new community website that offers a centralized resource for low-income,
transitional and permanent housing in King County. Assists clients and case
managers by providing detailed information about local housing programs and
their eligibility requirements. Offers housing search training and assistance
for providers, clients, and the community.
All Multi-Service
Center branches offering LIHEAP and PSE funds have full funding now, and
probably will continue to have sufficient funds through May 1.
Multi-Service Center – Kent is offering a Rent
Assistance Program. First day to apply is April 1, 8:30am, and subsequently
on the first workday of the month at 8:30am, ONLY. No walk-ins. Apply only by
phone; first come first served. Very limited funds. Open to low- to
moderate-income individuals and families living in South King County who can
provide verification of crisis leading to the need for assistance.
Salvation
Army’s office in Kent has closed.
Seattle’s
Union Gospel Mission now offers free clothing for men in need at 1:45pm,
M-F.
Second
Coming Outreach Ministry is a new agency in our database providing
shelter vouchers, utility assistance, food assistance, and clothing for
residents or homeless people in Renton, Auburn, Kent, and Skyway.•
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April and May Selected Resources
Compiled by Crisis Clinic’s Resource Center
This column attempts to highlight available timely
resources in the community information database that might otherwise go
unnoticed to our users.
It is always recommended to check community resources online
for additional information and for the most current information concerning
the following resources.
April Resource Highlights
Compiled by Crisis Clinic’s Resource Center
Families for Effective Autism
Treatment
Academic
Summer Program
Provides children with learning disabilities an accelerated academic
education for 4 weeks during summer vacation. Serves as a model for
educators throughout the region for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
classroom principles. Curriculum employs "Fluency Based
Instruction," a unique application of ABA principles specific to
academic skills for the children with learning disabilities. Students
are enrolled during May through June through FEAT's parent network.
Applications are typically distributed in April.
Mary Bridge Children’s
Hospital – Bridges
A Center for Grieving Children
Support
Groups
Provides support groups for families with children. With others their
own age, children express their feelings though discussion and specially
designed activities. Simultaneous support groups are offered for the
parents. Call for an intake appointment. New families may join
ongoing groups in November, February, April, and September.
Rebuilding Together Eastside
Home
Repair Project
Sponsors an annual, one-day, home repair project conducted by
volunteers. Services include interior and exterior painting, carpentry,
minor plumbing repairs, electrical work, accessibility modifications, yard
work, etc. Workday is on the last Saturday of April each year. All
repairs are provided at no cost to the homeowner. Service is for low-income
homeowners living in North and East King County.
Ruby Room
Prom
Boutique
Provides formal prom attire to low-income high school girls at seasonal
boutiques, usually held in April and May; referral required.
University of Washington –
Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center
Ears,
Hearing and Beyond Conference
Conducts a free, annual, one-day conference held this year on April 9 at the
University of Washington for anyone interested in hearing-related
issues. Conference includes talks and exhibits to promote awareness of
hearing-related issues such as prevention of hearing loss, coping with
hearing loss, and current research.
Return to the top
May Resource Highlights
Compiled by Crisis Clinic’s Resource Center
Master Builders Care Foundation
Ramp
Construction
"Rampathon" weekend event on Saturday, May 14
coordinates volunteers who build wheelchair access ramps for low-income
homeowners who have long-term physical needs. Office: 8am-5pm, M-F.
Event happens one weekend per year.
Ruby Room
Prom
Boutique
Offers barely-worn formal dresses, shoes, handbags,
jewelry, makeup, and cosmetic services to Seattle-area girls with limited
financial resources. Dresses and accessories are made available at boutiques
in the spring. 10am-5pm, April 17 and 19, May 1 and 8. Registration is
accepted year-round.
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Campsite
Reservations
Accepts reservations year-round for camping
between May 15 and September 15 at over 45 state parks. During summer months,
length of stay is up to ten consecutive days in any one park. This may be
extended to 20 days from October 1-April 30. Fees vary depending on site and
number of vehicles; camping discount is available for qualified and eligible
older adults and people with disabilities. Reservation fee is $7.
YMCA of Greater Seattle - Shoreline
Youth
and Government
Youth participate in a statewide learning experience about
government and legislature. There are 3 events per year that lead up to a
mock legislature in Olympia in May. •
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Resource Talk, Crisis Clinic’s free e-newsletter, provides
a health and human services update for King County with critical resource
updates to the annual publication of Where to Turn Plus. Subscribe/unsubscribe
to Resource Talk and other agency materials online.
Crisis Clinic offers a variety of products to help connect
people with critical resources. Information about purchasing Crisis Clinic’s
Where to Turn Directories, Where to Turn CD-ROMs, customized reports, and
customized mailing labels can be found online.
Crisis Clinic respects the privacy of our website
users.
For business purposes, please
email us at resourcecenter@crisisclinic.org
or call us at 206.461.3210.
www.crisisclinic.org
This Newsletter was last updated on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 02:59 PM
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